The Dresden Files

On Sunday, January 21, The Dresden Files will be premiering on the SciFiChannel. Though I recently bought the first three in the series, I havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t read them yet. But I still have a little over two weeks to get acquainted with Harry Dresden. The previews for the new show look so good, I had to grab the books to at least familiarize myself a little with the only wizard listed in the Chicago phonebook.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“Based on Jim Butcher’s best-selling novels, The Dresden Files tells the story of Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), a regular-guy private detective with extraordinary abilities. While most people see assaults, kidnappings or murders as the work of people with a depraved indifference for human pain, Harry is as likely as not to see the work of supernatural villains.

That’s because he’s a wizard. The real thing (and the only one listed in the Chicago phone directory). Whether consulting for the police on seemingly inexplicable crimes or following his own cases, he battles dark forces with a wry sense of humor.

The story begins when local gangster Tommy Tom and his girlfriend Jennifer Randall are found dead in a hotel room, their hearts having literally exploded from their chests. There’s no natural explanation for the gruesome scene Ã¢â‚¬â€ no forced entry, no sign of struggle and no evidence that the two organs had become fatally claustrophobic. So police Lt. Connie Murphy turns to Harry Dresden, wizard.Ã¢â‚¬Â

Sounds like it could be interesting. Jim Butcher, oddly enough, lives in Independence, MO which is the town I work in. I haven’t read any of his stuff but Greywalker was favorably compared to his work.

Oh, you’re the blog Carl was talking about re: Jim Butcher! I’m almost done with Book 3 (Grave Peril) and I’m stopping at the book store on the way home for the rest of them. Pfft to the library. Which, come to think of it, has never come through with a copy of Rogue Angel. Why do they let you put books on hold they haven’t bought?

Angela, this looks good. Glad you brought it to our attention. My high school daughter has finally succeeded in getting my hooked on two of her favorite shows: Medium and Heroes. Maybe she’ll watch this with me on the first night and we can get hooked from the beginning on the same show. Sounds fun.

Episode one of the “Butcher Block” podcast has an interview with the author of the series of novels that talks about the show as well as the differences between the novels and the show. Good listening for the hardcore Dresden Files fan: http://butcherblock.libsyn.com/